


In the Library

by Neon_Sleep



Series: Insiders [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Pining, Sort Of, Student!Byleth, Unrequited Love, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 11:03:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21053336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neon_Sleep/pseuds/Neon_Sleep
Summary: Byleth thinks about her time at the monastery so far.





	In the Library

**Author's Note:**

> Posted at like 3am.  
Turns out... 3am brain makes a LOT of mistakes. Hopefully I've fixed most of them heh heh shrugs

The library was Byleth’s second favorite place in the monastery.

The rush of adrenaline from a difficult sparring match, the sweat sticking to her skin the sign of a good workout, and the sun's all-over warmth were all sensations she associated with the training grounds. It was where she truly got to know her classmates from all Houses, and she had the most fun memories there. Swordsmanship with Felix, getting Hilda to (at least temporarily) let up on the “delicate flower” act and truly show off her skill wielding an axe. Inter-House competitions were, in her opinion, the most exciting extra-curricular activity at Garreg Mach. Watching from the sidelines she could learn new techniques and cheer on her fellow Golden Deer. Albeit, silently, as Byleth was never inclined to use many words, but the high energy crowd always brought a tiny smile to her face and gave her a buzz like she’d been out sharing drinks with her father’s mercenary company.

But the library… The library was a sanctuary. Big enough to get lost in any corner and be left alone for hours with any book she chose to study. Byleth preferred complete silence while she memorized battle tactics and soaked up all the lore and politics that she had been shielded from in her times on the road with her Father. There was so much history, so many names and places that she had trouble keeping track of, but after so many re-reads they had started to sound familiar.

Today was one of her off days, where she had finished all schoolwork, the chores had been done and no one needed her assistance or had asked for a battle, so she had picked up a book detailing the noble houses in the Leicester Alliance. Normally Byleth had to really focus her attention to get through the history books she picked out for herself, but this one had wrested her attention from the very beginning. Her ignorance of basic knowledge of Fódlan’s political figures and hierarchy sometimes brought her closer to her classmates. Sylvain had actually expressed jealousy at her complete lack of knowledge about Crests, and Dimitri was ecstatic at her casual way of speaking to him, when he managed to engage her in conversation anyway.

Byleth also found that sometimes her lack of knowledge created distance between herself and certain students. Topics others knew not to broach, she would unknowingly ask after, only for a classmate (especially the ones from noble houses) to gently ask the topic to be dropped and walk away, effectively ending the conversation and leaving Byleth with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy. It was one combination of feelings that always brought her thoughts back to her closest friend at the academy. Consequently, his family line was also the topic of the last chapter in her book: House Riegan.

Claude had been a rock for Byleth since she’d chosen to join the Golden Deer House during her first week at the academy. They’d had a rough start; Byleth had chosen the Golden Deer simply because the other two leaders had pushed her away with their bickering. Claude’s laid back nature suited her fine, she would take guarded eyes over an inner darkness and cold calculation any day. So when she was initially met with distrust after not having answers to a lot of basic questions, (_how old are you? Why didn’t you know your Father was a former knight? How are you always so… composed?_) it didn’t come as much as of a surprise. But like Claude said they would, they got to know each other much better over the school-year, bit by bit. Byleth learned that Claude liked to experiment with poisons, and though she knew nothing of the subject at first, she’d asked him to teach her some things and quickly became enthralled by the preciseness and effects. She knew it wasn’t a hobby she would pick up on her own, but watching Claude work was akin to watching magic potions being concocted; certain ingredients when mixed would smoke, glow or fizz, and the unknown of it all was thrilling.

Byleth had in turn been asked to help Claude sharpen his sword skills, a “fair exchange” of knowledge he’d called it. He’d affectionately taken to calling her Teach in and out of their lessons, and her tips were always accompanied by some tale from her mercenary days, always at his persistent request. He was the first student to really get her to open up, or even talk for longer than two minutes at a time. She knew he was constantly trying new methods of getting reactions out of her, her expressionless gaze somehow managing to draw him in rather than intimidate him away like it had many others. It wasn’t until about two months into her time as a student that Claude finally got the reaction he’d been waiting to see, but it wasn’t quite the emotion he had hoped for. Byleth had been browsing in the library with Ingrid, listening to her summary of a novel with which she’d recently been fixated about a noble, chivalrous knight. Hearing Ingrid lament over her one aspiration, and how she knew it would never be a real possibility, Byleth thought of her own father and asked why she couldn’t both be a knight and the head of House Galatea? Ingrid only shook her head and looked at her with sad eyes. “It’s not that simple. Anyway, I’d better be getting back to my training. See you around.” And with a small wave and a turn, she left.

Claude, who had been selecting his own books on tactics and relics to check-out passed Byleth in the stacks and did a double take. She was standing slightly slouched, seemingly staring at nothing, but with a lost look in her eyes that tugged on Claude’s heartstrings. He nearly dropped all his books, instead managing to quietly set them on the ground he walked over and bent down a bit to reach her eye-level. “What’s wrong?” His voice was quiet with concern (and well, it was a library). Byleth’s response was even quieter, “I don’t know.”

He watched her brow twitch downward, almost imperceptibly, but he’d been watching her so closely by this point that tiny details like that stood out to him, and he would’ve been amazed at the expression if he didn’t instinctually recognize the emotions swirling in her eyes; confusion, sadness, loneliness. Being an outsider himself, he knew he had found a kindred spirit in Byleth from their initial chats, and the bond they’d formed in the time since had quickly become dear to him. Resolving himself to ask questions later in favor of slapping an emotional band-aid on whatever was wrong, he clapped a hand on her shoulder and gave her his classic smile and a wink. “Well when you figure it out, feel free to bend my ear.” He leaned in close enough to almost bump noses and brought a single finger up to his mouth, “I am a legend at keeping secrets.” Byleth, used to his teasing by now, pinched his ear and pulled his head back to a respectable distance. “Ow ow _wait_!” Claude grunted and pushed her hand away. He rubbed at his ear, mumbling about unappreciative friends and looked back at her, only for him to freeze once they made eye contact again.

Byleth watched him with a warm look in her eyes and was _full-on smiling_. Not just the upturned corners he was used to, or a twitch of a smile at one of his bad jokes; it was impossible to mistake her current expression as anything other than affection. He stood there staring, as her smile slowly subdued and she shot him a “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” She walked out of the library, mood greatly uplifted, and thought about dinner in the dining hall later. Unbeknownst to her, Claude remained in the library stacks for quite some time after, face flushed, trying to figure out why his heart was beating so quickly.

Byleth absentmindedly traced her finger over the picture of the Riegan crest, wondering how she had gone so long before making her first friend. Her father had always been enough for her, still the most important pillar in her life. Yet… at some point all of her classmates had become cherished friends, even Flayn, who had only recently joined the Golden Deer. Just a matter of months ago, having a best friend had been a foreign concept to her, but now she couldn’t imagine charging into battle without her's at her side, scheming and watching her back. She sat there, tracing and pondering, when suddenly there was a soft voice directly in her ear, “_Boo_”.

Byleth froze.

After a split-second of panic, (_How did someone manage to sneak up on her? Had she really let her guard down that much? Why didn’t she have her sword on her?_) the sound caught up to her rapid thoughts and she realized that tone was one she would recognize anywhere. “Claude” she greeted in an even tone, turning in her seat to face where he stood behind her. “Did you need something?”

He shook his head at his failed attempt to spook her. “Nobody had seen you since this morning, so I tracked you down to see if you wanted to go catch dinner together in the dining hall. Don’t tell me you’ve been up here reading all day Teach?” He laughed lightly as his eyes wandered towards the book laying open in front of her. Byleth followed his eyes and tried to casually close it, realizing her mistake a moment too late. “By, are you studying up on me? I’m flattered, but you should know id be happy to answer your questions personally.” He looked down at her with raised eyebrows and an impish grin.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m interested in all the Crests in this book, it’s good knowledge to have in battle, and candidly I’m a bit tired of feeling ignorant.” Claude pulled out the chair next to her and spun it around, taking a seat and leaning over the chair’s back into a better position to closely watch her face and read between the lines of what she was saying. “You’ve never been that interested in the topic before. What changed?” Byleth looked from the curious glint in his eyes down to the red cover of the book sat in front of her. “I’ve been thinking on it, and while my blindness on the topic thus far started off with classmates seeking me out for my unbiased perspectives, recently I’ve felt… that instead it leaves me insensitive to the situations of others.” She paused and returned her gaze to her friend, his head tilted a fraction as he took in her reasoning. “That’s just like you, to be so concerned over others that you’ve been up here studying for hours. Tired of being an outsider? I suppose I knew this was coming eventually.” Claude switched to a tone with more dramatic flair and shrugged, “Everyone already can’t help but like you, and before I know it my Teach will be monopolized by friends and fans alike looking to get your opinion or advice and I’ll be back to scheming and brewing poisons in solitude.”

Byleth gave him her usual deadpan stare. She knew his theatrics had helped endear him to her, but she wasn’t in a place yet where she knew how to tease him back in a way that really affected him. “It would be heartless of me to let you brew things alone at this point, I can’t have my best friend blown up in a lab accident now can I?”

“B-best friend?” Claude’s arms fell to his side and he looked to Byleth with wide eyes.  
She simply nodded at him, taking in his facial expression. _Did she say something wrong?_ But then her stomach growled, and she was reminded that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She rose and gathered her books, “I guess it’s time to go get that dinner you talked about” she said in a light tone, mildly embarrassed at having lost track of time for so long. As Byleth took a step away from the table, she turned and saw Claude still seated and staring into the same spot he had been a minute ago and lightly frowned. _Maybe she said something upsetting?_ Unsure of herself, she hesitantly held out her hand towards him as he had done for her so many times in the past, “Claude?”

Seeing her hand held out toward him broke him of his trance and Byleth watched him softly shake his head. “Right,” he said, clasping her hand for a moment before letting go and getting to his feet. “Lead the way, Teach.” Byleth looked up at him and her hesitation melted away, relief gently lighting up her features. She turned and headed for the dining hall with Claude close behind, his face warm as he reflected on his own feelings, and wondered when he’d started to think of her as something more than his own closest friend.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt I should contribute to the fandom as I've enjoyed so many others' fics and artwork. And this idea has been in my head for awhile. Gotta love the library.


End file.
